Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- A Montreal shooting killed two, including officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane.
- Suspect Seth Scott Hatfield, linked to incel ideology, acted alone, police say.
- Victim Michel Mizrahi, an Israeli citizen, was a beloved Jewish community member.
MONTREAL — The tranquility of a residential neighborhood in the Canadian city of Montreal – home to diverse communities, including areas with deep Jewish roots — was shattered Monday morning after a gunman opened fire, prompting a shootout with police that killed at least two people, sent families running for cover and paralyzed the city for hours.
The brazen daylight shooting, which law enforcement sources believe was a targeted attack on police, marks the first time a Montreal officer has been killed in the line of duty in two decades.
The rash of gunshots shocked residents of the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, who remained under an hourslong order to take shelter and lock their doors as authorities investigated an "armed and dangerous suspect." The suspect was later confirmed to have been killed.
More than two dozen gunshots can be heard in one video of the incident posted to social media and verified by CNN.
Police are examining a more than 100-page document they believe may have been written by the gunman. It reportedly espouses incel ideology, according to law enforcement sources. Incel is short for "involuntary celibate," and its misogynistic ideology has been tied to several violent attacks in recent years.
The Quebec coroner's office identified the three people killed as Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34; Michel Mizrahi, 68; and Seth Scott Hatfield, 25, of Lethbridge, Alberta. The coroner did not specify the role each played in the shooting, citing the confidentiality of its ongoing investigation. A law enforcement source told CNN that Hatfield was the gunman, who police believe acted alone.
The University of Lethbridge confirmed the shooter was a student there and said it is cooperating fully with authorities.
"Violence, such as the actions that occurred yesterday, has no place in our society. The University also strongly condemns the views and ideologies that have been attributed to the shooter in media reports," the university said in a statement Tuesday.
The Montreal Police Service identified the fallen officer as Benredouane, who had been with the department since 2021. It's the first fatal shooting of an officer in the city in 24 years, Quebec Public Security Minister Ian Lafrenière said.
The other victim was identified as Mizrahi, an Israeli citizen, according to the Israeli Consulate in Montreal. Mizrahi was a beloved member of Montreal's Jewish community, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said.
"Our community is shattered. We have no words to express our deepest pain," Rabbi Menachem Mendel Raskin and his wife Sarah Raskin, co-directors of Beth Chabad C.S.L. in Montreal, told CNN of Mizrahi, a member of their community. "Many are coming forward with testimonials that their lives were saved yesterday because of his quick thinking, warning and guidance on how to get away from the scene and back to safety."
A second officer was transported to the hospital in critical condition, but she is now stable, Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher said at a news conference. One civilian sustained minor injuries, he said.
"It appeared to be an ambush," a Canadian law enforcement source said.
Residents run for cover as shots rang out
Less than five miles from the skyscrapers and frenzied metropolis of downtown Montreal, Côte-des-Neiges is a quieter, modern residential bubble.
Brandon Benchimel-Elkaim, a resident of a nearby condo building, said he saw panicked families at a local playground run for cover after he heard the first round of gunshots ring out around 11:15 a.m. ET, CNN newsgathering partner CBC News reported.
"I saw parents ripping their kids off of the play structure. They were running for their life," he said.
Benchimel-Elkaim said a second round of shooting came shortly after, followed by a large police presence, CBC reported.
Police were responding to a 911 call of gunshots and a gun sticking out of a window around 11:35 a.m. on Décarie Boulevard when officers came under fire in the street, Dagher, the police chief, said.
A squad of law enforcement officers staged at the entrance of a building before one officer kicked through the glass door, making room for the group to get inside. Several other officers, armed with rifles and a K9 unit, followed close behind.
A long gun used by Hatfield was seized at the scene, Dagher said.
Heidi Doctor was taking a work call after dropping off her child for a haircut when an officer pulled up in front of her and pulled out their gun, she told CTV News, a CNN newsgathering partner.
"All of a sudden, cops come swarming," Doctor said. Her other child had arrived at the hair salon just minutes before the mayhem began.
Doctor tried to stay in her parking spot, but she eventually had to get out of the way and pull onto a nearby side street, she told CTV. She waited for hours, communicating with her kids by phone, as they hid in the back of the salon.
Graphic videos of the violence, which occurred next to pedestrians and busy lanes of traffic, quickly began circulating online, as social media users began to speculate about what happened.
Lafrenière, the Domestic Security minister, asked people not to circulate graphic videos of the fatal shooting. He noted he has seen videos showing what appears to be a police officer shooting a civilian, noting the incident is being investigated by Quebec's police watchdog.
